Findings

Below, you find an overview of the findings from previous surveys of the Weizenbaum Panel. This summary is updated with every new survey. More detailed accounts and analysis can be found in the publications section. Also, you can explore and visualize the data interactively in our Data Explorer.

Political Media Use 

  • After television, the internet is the second most important medium for political information in Germany. Two-thirds of the citizens access political information from the internet at least several times a week. However, the proportion has been stagnating at 66 percent for years.
  • A digital divide can be observed in political internet use: Men, people with higher levels of education, and individuals with higher incomes use the internet for political information above average. Such differences are hardly found in other media.

Political Interest and Attitudes Towards Democracy

  • A large majority of people in Germany are very or rather politically interested (68 %). This proportion has remained broadly stable over the past four years. However, around ten percent of Germans are rather not or not at all interested in politics—a rise of four percentage points since 2021.
  • Trust in the government among German citizens dropped from 33 percent to 20 percent between 2021 and 2023. However, this negative trend did not continue in 2024. 23 percent of citizens believe that the government can usually be trusted to do the right thing. Significantly more people believe that democracy works very or rather well (48 %).
  • Almost four out of five Germans (79 %) consider threats and violence against politicians in Germany to be very to rather widespread. More than two-thirds (68 %) also see this as a serious threat to democracy.

Political Participation

  • Digital forms of political participation complement traditional forms of political engagement, especially among younger age groups. Liking political posts on social media is the most popular form of digital involvement. Along with sharing and commenting on political content, it is firmly established in the population’s repertoire of participation.
  • Traditional forms of participation, such as party memberships, remain at a low level or, like contacting politicians, have steadily declined over time. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have further intensified this trend: voluntary work, for example, has since remained at a significantly lower level.
  • The most popular forms of political participation are donations, boycotting/buycotting of certain products for political or ethical reasons, mobilizing other people, and signing petitions.
  • In the face of national and international disasters, more people donated money to political or charitable causes in 2021 than in previous years. Since 2023, however, the willingness to donate has declined significantly.
  • People who place themselves lower on the social ladder participate less than people who consider themselves to be of a higher social status. While this relation is strongly pronounced for traditional forms of participation, the differences are smaller for digital forms of participation.
  • 2024 was a year of protests: almost one in five people participated in at least one demonstration this year – an increase of eight percent compared to the previous year.

Civil Courage on the Internet

  • Younger people are much more aware of hate comments and misinformation online than older people and are more active in countering them.
  • 41 percent of Germans came into contact with hate messages online in 2024. The proportion remained at a high level compared to the previous year. About one third of these individuals have reported such posts or publicly opposed them.
  • More than one third of Germans (42 %) encountered misinformation in 2024. One fifth of Germans stated that they had warned others about misinformation, and 27 percent said they checked suspicious news themselves. In contrast, only about ten percent decided to report misinformation to platforms

Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence and Social Media

  • The internet is predominantly viewed positively. Despite a slightly positive trend compared to the previous year, the population is still more critical of social media. Only around 41 percent of the respondents rate social media as “rather positive or very positive”.
  • Germans’ attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI) are ambivalent, with around one-third viewing AI positively,one-third viewing AI negatively, and another third undecided. There are significant group differences in this assessment: people with lower and middle incomes and older population groups tend to be more skeptical, while younger people and those with higher incomes and higher levels of education are more positive about AI. Around half of 16–34-year-olds (49 %) have a positive attitude towards AI.

Experiences with Artificial Intelligence

  • The majority of the population states that they have already had their first experiences with AI in their leisure time. In contrast, less than a quarter of respondents have used AI at work or in education.
  • The attitude towards the consequences of AI in work and education is generally positive, but more ambivalent in the leisure area.

Financial Participation: Inequalities in the Use of Digital Payment Services

  • Despite the increasing prevalence of app-based services, traditional payment methods such as debit and credit cards, online banking, or instant bank transfers are still the most commonly used. Newer services like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Klarna are less widespread. Digital payment services are preferred by individuals aged 16 to 34.
  • Differences emerge between income groups and gender: People with a higher income use digital payment services, online banking, and credit cards more frequently. Women use online banking, credit cards, and PayPal less than men, while there are hardly any differences regarding debit cards.
  • Offerings such as “Buy Now, Pay Later” are used equally by all income and age groups, although the risk of falling into over-indebtedness due to interest and fees may be higher for those with lower incomes.